One of the Boys
by brebee2010
Summary: Bella and Edward were best friends and shared a moment before Bella left to visit her mother in Phoenix for 2 weeks. When she returned, everything had changed and Bella found herself to be just one of the boys.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own the characters…they are owned by Stephanie Meyer. Got the idea from Katy Perry's song, "One of the Boys". Enjoy!**

It was the summer of 2008 and baseball season was winding down. Bella Swan pulled her batting helmet and stepped to the plate. As the only girl playing in the league, she was used to the catcalls and jeers from the other team. She let the first two balls fly through with out swinging, both strikes. The bases were loaded and the Forks Spartans were down by 2 runs with 2 outs at the bottom of the 9th inning. After seeing the 2 strikes, the Port Angeles Angels were ecstatic, sure they had just won the state championship.

Bella took one last look at the runner on 3rd, Edward Cullen. They had been best friends since he moved next door 10 years ago, and Bella simply gave him a smirk and a slight nod. Suddenly the 3rd pitch was thrown and Bella swung with all her might. The ball flew over the heads of the Angels into far left field. She took off running, knowing she'd be rounding second by the time the other team lifted their jaws off the ground. Bella crossed home miles ahead of the ball and jumped into the arms of Edward, swinging her around and laughing. Before she knew it Jasper and Emmett were tearing her out of Edward's arms and hoisting her up on their shoulders to celebrate their unexpected win.

* * *

Later that night Bella and Edward were sitting in the oak tree separating their yards. They were discussing the game when Edward suddenly stopped talking and leaned in towards Bella, looking in her eyes. Just as Bella thought he was going to kiss her, Edward's eyes were diverted across the street. Bella followed his gaze and saw a girl getting out of a car.

"Who is that?" Edward asked. "I haven't seen her around before."

Bella immediately began racking her brain trying to remember if Charlie had said anything about someone moving in with the Denali's. Carmen and Eleazar were like grandparents to Bella, but she couldn't ever remember anyone coming to visit them in years.

"I don't know," Bella said. "I'd go find out tomorrow but my flight for Phoenix leaves at 8. Renee wouldn't be pleased if I didn't show up for her 2 weeks. I guess that leaves it up to you to find out who she is."

"Okay," mumbled Edward, still staring at the girl. Bella took another look and saw she had long strawberry-blonde hair that curled to her waist. Bella ran her fingers through her won dark hair, wondering what Edward was so taken with. She didn't see anything special.

**First fan fiction…let me know if I should continue. Will try to have 2****nd**** chapter up by the end of the week.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own the characters…they are owned by Stephanie Meyer. **

-2 weeks later-

Bella's time in Phoenix had flown by. She had forgotten what a child her mother could be. Renee had tried to get Bella to act more like a girl, but Bella refused. She would rather discuss baseball with her stepfather, Phil, than learn how to apply eyeliner. The only damper in Bella's vacation was that she hadn't heard once from Edward. She kept thinking about that moment of Edward looking into her eyes before he was distracted by that girl.

The girl. Bella still had no idea of who she was. The couple of times she had spoken to Charlie had offered no explanations. Bella would just have to wait until she got home. After leaving a sobbing Renee in Phoenix, Bella got on the plane home to hopefully find same answers.

A few hours later the plane had landed in Seattle and Bella was looking around for her welcome party. She soon saw Charlie, looking bewildered by the sheer amount of people surrounding him. Bella quickly grabbed her luggage and went to relieve him. As she approached Charlie, she realized that Edward wasn't there to greet her like usual.

"Where's Edward? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, lets just get out of here," said Charlie. "Edward was busy today and couldn't make it."

Bella could tell there was something Charlie wasn't telling her, but decided to let it slide. She knew Edward was preparing for their junior year of high school and he was probably freaking out about college already. Everyone knew he wanted to go to Yale and nothing could stop him from achieving that goal.

After four hours of virtual silence, Bella and Charlie finally arrived home. Even though the time was closing in on 11, Bella found herself knocking on Edward's door, just to see his face. A bleary-eyed Esme answered the door.

"What are you—Bella! What are you doing here? How are you? Come in, come in!"

Bella found herself immediately ushered inside and under direct examination by Esme. Since her own mother had run off with Phil eight years ago, Esme had become a mother-figure in Bella's life. After having had a few cookies and answered Esme's questions, Bella got to the reason for why she was there.

"Where is Edward? He knew I was coming home today but I have yet to see him. Is he here?"

Esme sighed. "He's not here. If it's like any other night this week he's probably out with Tanya again."

"Who's Tanya? I've never heard of her."

"She arrived around the time you left for Phoenix. She's the granddaughter of Carmen and Eleazar Denali. Tanya's parents hadn't spoken to the Denalis for years. Apparently they became involved in drugs and were sent to prison. Tanya and her two younger sisters were sent to live with their grandparents until the parents are released from prison."

Bella took this information and things began to click into place. Tanya was obviously the girl she and Edward had seen the night before Bella left. Charlie knew that Edward had been with Tanya all week and didn't tell her. Bella felt like an idiot, thinking things were going to change between them.

"I'm sorry Esme, but I have to go. I'm a little tired and need to catch up on my sleep before school starts on Monday. Don't tell Edward I stopped over tonight."

Bella got up to leave, determined that no tears would show in her eyes. She opened the front door and came to face with Edward clinging to a strawberry-blonde.

"Hey Bells. How was your trip?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Characters do not belong to me…they are all Stephenie Meyers!**

"Hey Bells. How was your trip?"

Bella couldn't believe her bad luck. Just as she was ready to leave and be a girl for once, Edward had to show up. The girl that was clinging to Edward slowly turned to face Bella. She smirked and put out her hand to greet Bella.

"Hello, I'm Tanya. You must be Bella. Eddie's told me so much about you."

Bella didn't have much knowledge of girl politics, but she knew when she was being talked down too, literally and physically. Bella looked up at Tanya and was shocked. Tanya's heart-shaped face was framed by strawberry blonde curls that reached halfway down her back. Her ice-blue eyes were slightly slanted and her pink lips turned up slightly at the corners. When she smiled, the only flaw Bella could find was the slight point her canines came to. When Bella looked at Tanya, as a whole, she was reminded of a cat that had sunk her claws into her prey.

"Yeah, I'm Bella. I live next door. I better get home or Charlie'll start looking for me. See you tomorrow Edward?"

"Su-"

"Of course!" said Tanya. We can't wait, can we Eddie?"

Edward just shrugged and walked inside. "I'll see you tomorrow Bells. There's some things I need to talk to you about," he said.

Tanya pushed her way past Bella and stepped inside the house. "Bye Bella," Tanya smirked as she shut the door in Bella's face.

After Bella stood looking shocked at the door for a moment, she ran home, past Charlie, and slammed her bedroom door. She could feel the tears forming and looked at herself in the mirror. She saw a short girl staring back at her, something that had always come in handy during baseball season. Her brown hair barely reached her shoulders and just hung there. Her brown eyes were too big, as well as her bottom lip. Biting down on said lip, Bella promised herself that she would show Edward just how similar they were and convince him to love her.

The next morning, a Saturday, Bella sprang out of bed, ready to put her plan in motion. She threw on her favorite baseball tee, a pair of jeans, and her green chuck taylors. She pulled back her hair as she ran down the stairs. Hearing a knock at the door, Bella threw it open and was immediately enveloped by a huge pair of arms.

"Belly-ache!" she heard as her feet were swung off the ground.

"Emmett," she gasped, "…can't…breathe!"

"Oops…sorry," he said as he lowered Bella back to the ground. "I just missed you."

Jasper peered from around Emmett's massive form. "Hey Bells, glad to see you're back."

"Same here," she said. "What trouble have you too been up to while I was gone?"

Jasper and Emmett looked sheepishly at each other and answered simultaneously, "Nothing! Why? What have you heard?!"

Bella laughed, glad to see nothing about these two had changed.

"So really," she said. "What happened while I was gone?"

**So today was a productive day in my political science class…lol! Two updates in one day!! Since I work basically in my class, I can't guarantee when I'll update next. Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**All characters belong to Stephanie Meyers**

**Sorry for not updating for a while. Classes got really busy and I was just stuck on the transition for this chapter. Thanks and enjoy!**

**Ch. 4**

Emmett, Jasper, and Bella spent the rest of the morning exchanging stories. Even though she'd only been gone for 2 weeks, Bella had missed out on a lot. When she had left for Phoenix, Emmett had been closing in on a date with Rosalie, a cheerleader. Now he found himself 2 steps back, as Rosalie had laughed when he finally asked her out.

"I don't get girls. They say they want love and romance and all that mushy shit, but when you try to give them that, they throw it back in your face!"

Jasper and Bella couldn't hold in their laughter any longer. Bella had always found Rosalie to be a bitch and was secretly glad she'd turned him Emmett down. Emmett's face kept getting redder and redder until he shouted, "What?! It's not like either of you know what girls want either!"

Jasper laughed even harder, falling on the floor and grasping his sides. Bella, however, didn't find Emmett's dilemma quite so funny anymore. He was right. Bella had no idea what girls wanted, even though she was one. On the other hand, she did know what guys wanted. With this knowledge, she thought, Edward would be hers.

Springing up from her position on the ground, Bella quickly told Emmett and Jasper good-bye and ran home in record time. Charlie was still fishing with his friend Billy, and Bella didn't expect him home for hours.

Bella grabbed a notebook and flopped down on her bed. She began making a list of everything Edward did or liked. As the list grew, she became frustrated. For the most part Bella and Edward liked and did all the same things. They both had an overwhelming love of baseball. Bella was a huge fan of the Mariners, being born and raised in Washington, while Edward loved his hometown Chicago Cubs. Bella smiled at the thought of Edward singing "Go Cubs Go" over and over until she couldn't help but join in.

In the end, the only difference Bella could find was her God-given ability to belch the alphabet. Growing up Edward had always been jealous, but Bella didn't think that was the way to his heart.

Suddenly her phone started vibrating and Bella had a text from Edward.

**Hey…what u up to?**

_Not much, just left Em and Jazz…u?_

**Contemplating a Star Wars marathon…u in?**

Usually Bella wasn't overly enthused about Star Wars, but she saw this as a chance to show Edward that they shared the same interests. Knowing Edward would want to start with Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, Bella knew she'd have several hours with him alone.

_Sure, give me ½ hour_

Bella jumped off her bed and ran to her dresser. After smelling her pits to make sure she didn't need another shower, Bella pulled out a blue button-down she'd stolen from Edward. She threw it on, rolled up her sleeves, and put on a pair of flats. As she moved past the mirror towards the door, she caught of glimpse of herself. Bella took out her ponytail and put the band around her wrist. Fluffing her hair, Bella took one last look and headed over to Edward's.

Knocking on the door, Bella heard a foreign voice saying she'd get it. When the door opened, she came face to face with Tanya.

**Working on Chapter 5 now…hopefully I'll have it up by the weekend. Thanks for reading and I hope to work faster for you all!**


	5. Chapter 5

**All characters belong to Stephanie Meyers**

**Ch. 5**

When the door opened, Bella came face to face with Tanya.

"Oh, hey Bella. I thought you were the pizza guy. I hope you like veggie!"

The thought of vegetables on pizza was enough to make Bella ill. However, she had been raised to be polite to strangers, especially when those strangers were friends to friends.

"Of course, Tanya, how thoughtful of you." Bella walked past Tanya and sat down next to Edward.

"Sorry about the veggie pizza," Edward said. "Meat makes her sick. I hope you don't mind if Tanya joins us. She's never seen Star Wars before."

Within minutes the pizza had arrived and Bella's carnivore appetite stomached through the meatless fare. When Edward put in Episode 1, Tanya immediately began cooing and ahhing over Anakin and Obi Wan. Bella couldn't help but role her eyes, especially when Tanya laid her head on Edward's lap. Throughout the movie Tanya made commentary on either the cuteness of the male characters or the design of Amidala's dresses.

Finally the movie was over and Tanya excused herself to go to the bathroom. After making sure she'd left the room, Edward turned to Bella and looked her in the eyes.

"Bella," he said, "there's something I have to tell you."

_This is my chance_, Bella thought. _He's going to say he loves me and ask me out_.

"I have to tell you something too," Bella said. "You go first though."

"Ok, well I've been doing a lot of thinking over the last two weeks and I've realized something."

Bella leaned in closer and nodded, encouraging Edward on.

"I think…I think…I think I'm in love with Tanya. You're my best friend and I had to tell someone. Well, what do you think?"

As quickly as Bella's joy and excitement had built up, it was instantly destroyed. Realizing her jaw was hanging open, Bella pushed back the tears forming in her eyes and forced her mouth to smile.

"I'm so happy for you," she said, hearing the fakeness in her own voice. "I've gotta go. I promised Charlie I'd make dinner tonight."

Bella quickly scrambled off the couch and grabbed her bag.

"Wait, wasn't there something you wanted to tell me?" Edward asked.

"What? Er, yeah, but it can wait. I'll tell you at school on Monday. See ya."

Barely holding her tears back, Bella raced for the door. As she left the living room, she saw Tanya leaning against the wall, smirking. She knew Tanya had seen and heard the entire conversation.

When Bella got home, she threw herself across her bed and found herself crying for the second night in a row.


	6. Chapter 6

**All characters belong to Stephanie Meyers**

**Ch. 6**

Over the next nine months, Bella found herself trying to figure out her place in Forks High School. Tanya had become friends with Rosalie and her crowd and now gained more pleasure in making life hell for Bella behind Edward's back. Edward still claimed that Bella was his best friend, but had begun hanging out with her less and less.

For her birthday in September, Edward gave Bella the new bat she'd been lusting over. When she unwrapped it, Bella was surprised to see that it had been customized with a pink handle and pink and purple flowers swirling around the entire bat.

"Tanya helped pick it out. She said girls like pink and flowers and stuff like that," Edward explained.

Forcing on the smile she'd recently adopted, Bella thanked Edward for the gift. When he left, she threw the bat in the back of her closet, knowing she'd never be able to use it. If she showed up to practice with that bat, she knew none of the guys would ever take her seriously. She might as well start using a pink glove and decimate the rest of her reputation on the field.

For Christmas, Renee and Phil came up to Washington to spend the holidays with Bella. Like every Christmas, Renee begged Bella to spend the whole summer with them, but like every other Christmas, Bella declined. She promised Renee she'd be down for two weeks at the end of the summer after baseball season. When they left a few days after Christmas, Bella couldn't help but feel that Phil had been a little distracted, but decided it was due to being away from home.

New Years came in like an ax to the neck. Tanya insisted that Edward throw a masked party since Esme and Carlisle would be out of town that night attending a hospital benefit. When she received the invite, Bella laughed and decided to attend just to see Tanya make a fool of herself.

Knowing Charlie still had a large box of Renee's clothes in the attic, Bella scoured through her mother's old clothes. Most of it was soccer mom wear, but the last piece was a long, flowing dress from the 70s. It was the first dress Bella had ever fallen in love with and immediately developed a costume. After running to the dollar store to pick up a domino mask, she assembled her costume.

The morning of the party, Bella washed and braided her hair to make it wavy. Around 9, she slipped on the dress, took out her braids, added a headband and accessories, and took a look in the mirror. Bella barely recognized herself, smiling as she finished the look with a green mask.

When she arrived at the Cullen's at 10, the party was in full swing. Bella was handed a cup of beer when she walked in and immediately started looking for Edward. She finally saw him sitting in a chair dressed as Caesar, complete with Tanya dressed in a tiny toga draped across his lap. Bella felt bile rising in her throat and downed the beer to keep it down.

One hour and 6 beers later, Bella found herself feeling a little drunk. No one had yet to figure out who she was, and Bella found herself engrossed in conversation with James Daniels, star quarterback of the football team. 10 till midnight, Bella caught Edward staring at her and started giggling. Just before midnight, Tanya announced that it was time to remove their masks and kiss whomever they were with.

As the ball dropped Bella removed her mask, took one hard look at Edward, and spun back around to kiss James. James was surprised to see who was kissing him, but quickly forgot about it. The kiss didn't last long before Bella felt someone grabbing her shoulder and pulling her away.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" yelled Edward as he pulled her through the crowd and outside. As soon as they were out the door, Edward le go of Bella's arm and ran his hand through his hair. "I should call Charlie and take you home. God, Bella, you're like my little sister! What were you thinking?!"

At the phrase "little sister," Bella raised her hand and slapped Edward across the face. Seething, Bella screamed, "Little sister? LITTLE SISTER! I am NOT your little sister! I'm your best friend, or at least I was. We don't hang out anymore and when we do you always bring Tanya with you! Why is it ok for you to make out with her, but I can't kiss someone else? You hypocrite!"

As Bella turned to leave, Edward just stood there in shock. Bella didn't look back once to see if anyone had gathered or witnessed their scene. She just didn't care anymore.


	7. Chapter 7

**All characters belong to Stephanie Meyers**

**Ch. 7**

**EPOV**

After the New Year's debacle, Edward and Bella saw little of each other. Every time Edward tried to apologize, Bella turned away and walked in the opposite direction. After a few weeks, Edward gave up and devoted his time to his studies and Tanya. He figured he could wait to talk to Bella until baseball season, as she'd have to talk to her teammate.

When April rolled around, Edward was shocked to find that Bella's name was not on the team roster. After speaking to Jasper, he learned that Bella had decided to spend the entire summer in Arizona with her mother. The team was devastated, but no one more than Edward.

With prom coming up, Edward figured he had one last chance to corner Bella before she left. He had heard of several guys who had asked her to go with them and figured that Bella had to go with one of them. However, when the night came, she was nowhere to be seen. It was at this point that Edward realized how badly he had screwed up and where his feelings truly laid.

Edward Cullen loved Bella Swan.

**BPOV**

After New Years, Bella stayed as far away from Edward as she could. She told Charlie not to let him in the house, as she had no desire to speak to him. Hearing the hurt in his daughter's voice, Charlie asked no questions and began answering the door with a shotgun whenever Edward tried to come over. Bella smiled at the thought of Charlie's protectiveness, but did nothing to stop him.

The only problem Bella had was school. Due to the small size of the school, there was little she could do to avoid Edward. She switched what classes she could, and arrived just before and just after the bell rang in the others. Even in the hallways, Bella turned to walk in the opposite direction when she saw Edward coming.

Noticing her behavior, Emmett and Jasper confronted Bella. She broke down and told them everything, including her feelings for Edward. Being friends with both Bella and Edward, Jasper backed out and declared himself to be Switzerland. Emmett, on the other hand, truly saw himself as Bella's big brother and took her side. At least once a week Emmett asked if he could beat "Eddie" up, bringing a smile to Bella's face.

In February, Renee called to once again ask Bella to spend the entire summer with her. For the first time in twelve years, Bella told her mother she'd consider it. Renee immediately went full swing into planning the summer. An hour later, Renee finally hung up, saying that Alice would be so excited.

Later, Bella wondered who Alice was, but figured she was some new friend of Renee's. If they were still friends when Bella went to Phoenix, she'd find out then.

If Bella thought her social life was miserable before, it was even worse after New Years. Tanya took her queen bee status to a new extreme. With Edward on her arm, she even surpassed Rosalie in cattiness and officially made Bella a social pariah among the girls.

James wasn't making things any better. He was continually trying to get Bella to go out with him, which attracted other guys to her. For Prom, Bella was asked by at least five different guys, ranging from All-Star Quarterback James to Golden Boy Michael Newton to AV Club President Eric Yorkie. She turned them all down and spent prom night watching the Mariners with Charlie.

Mid-March Bella finally decided to spend the summer in Phoenix with Renee and Phil. Charlie was a little disappointed as he'd be alone all summer without his girl to watch baseball with. Emmett and Jasper were worried about the baseball team and their chances for defending their state championship title. The only person Bella couldn't bring herself to tell was Edward. Every time she went over to tell him, she chickened out before she could even knock on the door.

When Bella confirmed her summer plans with Renee, Renee once again mentioned the mysterious Alice.

"Mom, who is Alice?"

"Didn't I tell you about Alice? She's your sister."

"Sister?" Exclaimed Bella. "Why didn't you tell me you had a baby?"

"Baby? Oh dear God, did you think I could raise another child? Luckily you turned out ok thanks to Charlie, but I couldn't handle another one. Alice is your age. She's Phil's daughter."

"Neither did Phil until recently. He had been contacted by her just before we came up at Christmas where she claimed he was the result of a one-night stand he had seventeen years ago. In January he got the paternity test results back and they confirmed Alice was his daughter.

Her mother had just died when she first contacted Phil and told Alice who her father was on her deathbed and she had no other family. Of course we couldn't let her go into the foster system so she came to live with us shortly after the test results came back. I could have sworn I told you about her…"

Bella was shocked when she got off the phone with her mother. By the end of the conversation, she had learned that Alice was an avid shopper and fashion addict, everything Renee could ask for in a daughter. Bella was nervous to meet the girl, and was unsure of how they would co-exist in the same household for an entire three months.

**A.N.**

**Sorry I haven't updated for a while…I got busy with finals and my college graduation. Hopefully I'll be able to finish this story over the summer before I start law school in the fall! **

**Wow! Longest chapter to date! Alice finally makes an appearance and will have a bigger role in the rest of the story. Who doesn't love Alice?**


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